We Compost Weekend

The wallet-friendliest weekend of the year is approaching thanks to We Compost. The company that started with just a bin of coffee grinds but is now a waste reducing warrior in Auckland, battling landfill pollution with over 50,000 litres of organic waste reused each week. The company was started by Steve Rickerby in 2012, who started off by delivering his local coffee shop's grinds and delivering them to the community garden for mulching. And now, in collaboration with the commercial composting plant Envirofert, We Compost has saved over 850,000 kgs of waste from the landfill fate, and instead used the scraps to aid other aspects of society.

And this weekend those other aspects of society happen to be Aucklanders' back pockets. From the 6-7 of September We Compost is promoting mindful composting, by letting Aucklanders pay for their consumer goods with their own scraps. The event has gathered support from 35 local businesses, who are encouraging payment by waste for the weekend. Pick up an official We Compost Weekend bag from any of the participating outlets - including Kokako Cafe, Little Bird Unbakery and Z Energy, and fill it with household waste to use as currency during the event.

By using scraps as a form of currency, the event aims to educate the city on the true value of their organic waste. If Aucklanders are able to receive rewards in return for their household rubbish, then they might think twice next time they go to dispose of their organic products along with their regular trash. With 1,866,664 trailer loads of organic scraps being sent to landfills annually, an unnecessary $77 million is spent on disposing of this waste product, and that's without addition of the price paid by the environment due to the irresponsible wastage.

If all goes to plan, We Compost Weekend should help instigate a smarter, more eco-friendly Auckland, in the weekend is a good one for the conscience, the brain, the environment and the wallet.